Rise of the low-top: Basketball shoes trending smaller - Canton Repository |
- Rise of the low-top: Basketball shoes trending smaller - Canton Repository
- Red, White & Shoes? Footwear at Forefront of Marathon Trials - The New York Times
- At U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, It Was All About the Shoes - The Wall Street Journal
- Cole Haan is going public: 5 things to know about the shoes and accessories company - MarketWatch
- Prince Harry's Shoes Have a Custom H on the Sole - TownandCountrymag.com
| Rise of the low-top: Basketball shoes trending smaller - Canton Repository Posted: 01 Mar 2020 03:00 AM PST Sunday Special: Low-top basketball shoes are becoming more common at the high school level, a trend that has trickled down from the NBA When Tom Siegfried was a basketball player at Alliance High School in the early 1990s, he could drive to his local Foot Locker and buy a pair of Nike Air Command Force basketball shoes. The shoes, which were worn by San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson (not to mention Wesley Snipes in "White Men Can't Jump), featured Nike's version of the Reebok Pump. It had an inflatable bladder in the ankle, allowing players to adjust the shoe's tightness around the ankle. The good: the shoes were extremely stable and had a cool visible air pocket in the heel, which was relatively new. The bad: they weighed roughly 34 pounds and the tongue came past your knee. If you weren't 7-feet tall with an action figure's physique, there were plenty of other shoe options, from the Reebok Pump (worn by Dominique Wilkins, among others) to the Air Force Max (worn by Charles Barkley in the NBA and Chris Webber at Michigan during the infamous "Timeout Game") to the Converse Aero Jam (Larry Johnson) to several varieties of Air Jordans. Thing was, they were all mid-tops or high-tops. "So, I'm old," said Siegfried, now the boys basketball coach at Louisville. "And when I played at Alliance with Chet Harper and for Coach (Rick) Hairston, we always had high-tops. "I joke with my players that they came up to our calf." Not anymore. If you've attended any high school basketball games over the past few years, you may have noticed that uniforms aren't the only things that have gotten smaller since the 1990s. Shoes have, too. "Every year we give them a choice and it's always low-top," Siegfried said. "Nowadays, the kids train so much and have so much strength and mobility in their ankles, it doesn't really phase them. They like the low-top because it gives them a lot more freedom. "Like I said, I'm old. We wore high-tops, but we used to jump stop and pivot back then, too. It's a lot cleaner of a game now." Decades ago, it wasn't unusual to see basketball players in low-tops. While most players wore high-top Chuck Taylors (Converse All-Stars) or Keds, Celtics center Bill Russell wore low-top Chucks, as well as low-top Adidas. But by the late 1970s, pretty much everyone wore high-tops, ostensibly for the ankle support. That didn't change until 2008, when Kobe Bryant decided he wanted a faster, quicker shoe than what was available. Bryant grew up in Italy and noticed that, aside from jumping, soccer players do pretty much the same things that basketball players do. And soccer players weren't wearing mid-top cleats. So, Nike designed the Zoom Kobe IV, starting a low-top trend that now dominates the NBA and has trickled down to the high school level. If you look around the NBA, you'll see signature low-tops from normal-sized guards like Paul George or James Harden to nimble giraffes like Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. LeBron James wears a mid-top that looks like a moon boot compared to Kobe's shoes, but even his shoes have a low-top version. "I let kids wear whatever is comfortable, but you're definitely seeing a trend to the lower shoe," Hoover boys coach Mike Bluey said. "With the ankle braces improving so much, they wear those and it's just like they're wearing the high-top." A lot of coaches are like Bluey, giving players the option to pick what they want as long as it fits the team's color scheme. Lake coach Tom McBride admits he's one of those old-school coaches who likes his players to wear uniform shoes, but he doesn't dictate what kind of shoes. Consequently, all but two of this year's Blue Streaks wore the Nike Mamba Focus, which is a Kobe Bryant signature shoe that looks almost like a running shoe. (GlenOak's girls basketball team, which won a district title on Friday, wears a gray version of the Mamba.) "We bring our (shoe) guy in in October and then we decide what to do as a team," said McBride, who coaches in a pair of blue Nike Zoom Pegasus 36 running shoes, in case you were wondering. "Nike's best package in blue was the low-top. "Even in practice, when we don't wear team shoes, a lot of them do wear the low-tops. It's kind of back in and it's probably the NBA trickling down for sure. Studies say there's no correlation between the low and the high as far as ankle injuries. That's what the reports are telling us, unless that's a marketing technique." It isn't. I worked at Dick's Sporting Goods in the late 1990s and we were told the same thing. In 2014, the Journal of Foot and Ankle Research even did a study on the relationship between high-top and low-top basketball shoes and found no difference. "There's no science out there, that we have at least, that proves that a high-top shoe is more effective at reducing ankle injuries than anything else," Kevin Dodson, Nike's senior design director for basketball footwear, told Esquire in 2017. Why is that? Well, in order to truly stabilize the ankle, a basketball shoe would basically need to be like a work boot, restricting movement to the point where you'd look like Frankenstein's monster compared to the rest of the players on the court. (If you already look like this on a basketball court, by all means, wear whatever you'd like.) Nike makes dozens of types of basketball shoes each year, so the choice ultimately comes down to preference. But the low-top trend isn't going away, particularly in the younger generation. "I don't dictate that kind of stuff; if that's what they want to wear, let them do it," GlenOak girls basketball coach Paul Wackerly said. "I had those (high-tops) in high school and trust me, I didn't like them." "If they want to wear low-tops, I say get 'em." Lake's Owens earns first Division I offer Lake running back Dreden Owens picked up his first Division I offer this week, from Youngstown State. Owens carried 141 times for 1,031 yards (7.3 average) and 10 TDs in eight games for the Blue Streaks last fall as a junior. The Penguins compete at the Football Championship Subdivision level (formerly I-AA). YSU recently hired former Salem High School football coach Doug Phillips to replace Bo Pelini, who will be LSU's defensive coordinator. Around college basketball Winthrop guard Chandler Vaudrin (Lake) dished out a season-high 15 assists to go with eight points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 84-76 win over High Point. He averaged 9.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game during the regular season for the Eagles (21-10, 15-3), who tied Radford atop the Big South standings. The Big South tournament begins Tuesday. ... Maryland sophomore guard Taylor Mikesell (Jackson) is averaging 10.6 points and shooting 41.7% on 3-pointers for the Terps (24-4, 15-2), who have won 13 straight entering Sunday's regular-season finale at Minnesota. Maryland is a half-game behind Northwestern (26-3, 16-2) in the conference standings. The Big Ten tournament begins Wednesday in Indianapolis. Malone's Hazen headlines benefit Legendary Malone University cross country coach Jack Hazen will speak at a ministry fundraising event at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Chapel in North Canton. Hazen will speak on the lifelong benefits of running and aerobic activity from a physical, mental, and spiritual perspective. He will also share stories on his successful coaching career, including his experience as the USA long distance men's running coach at the 2012 Olympics. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students, with all proceeds going to support the running team at the Deep Stream School in Buena Vista, Guatemala. For details, visit DeepStreamCommunity.com. Former Kent golf coach to speak Herb Page, the longtime Kent State golf coach who retired last spring, will speak at Monday's Hall of Fame Luncheon Club meeting at Tozzi's on 12th. Reach Joe at 330-580-8573 or joe.scalzo@cantonrep.com On Twitter: @jscalzoREP  |
| Red, White & Shoes? Footwear at Forefront of Marathon Trials - The New York Times Posted: 28 Feb 2020 04:50 PM PST  In his biggest race, distance runner Jacob Riley might slip on a pair of shoes he's never even broken in. The reason is simple: They're supposed to be fast. Or so the research suggests on Nike's new Alphafly Next% sneaker. Riley, who has no shoe sponsor, wants to be able to go stride for stride with anyone wearing Nike's game-changing shoe, or any of its competitors, when he lines up Saturday at the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in Atlanta. "It's an annoying decision to have to make this close to the race, but it is what it is," said Riley, who planned to test shoes up until race time. No matter what times the marathoners turn in, or how well they run, they know that, after this race, the real headliner will be their shoes. Which ones will cross first? Will it be the supposedly groundbreaking Nike Vaporfly or its next generation Alphafly Next%? Will it come from a Nike rival, several of which are desperately trying to close the gap? Or will it be a shoe without any of the new technology that just happens to be worn by a runner who is, quite simply, faster than the rest? "Shoes are what's in the back of our minds right now," said Jared Ward, one of the race favorites. "Because it's what is in the front of the headlines." World Athletics, track's governing body, recently outlined new guidelines to significantly tighten rules surrounding shoe technology. One of the stipulations is that any new shoe, in addition to being compliant, needs to be on the open market by April 30 if athletes want to wear them at the Tokyo Olympics this summer. That's why so many shoe companies have been racing to launch enhanced models. Adidas, Hoka One One, Saucony and New Balance are among those that have recently released shoes featuring carbon-fiber plates for more spring and propulsion, similar to what Nike's created in its shoe lab. Independent and Nike-sponsored studies have found that the shoe gives runners a 4% edge in energy efficiency. "This has been such a controversial thing for our sport," Riley said. "Someone made the comment that it's changing the conversation away from the athletes, which is a little bit frustrating." Riley doesn't think twice about stepping into shoes he's never tested out. If it feels good — and feels fast — he may wear the Alphafly version. "Most people now, when (shoes) last 100 miles, would want them to be as fresh as possible to keep that spring as crisp as can be," Riley said. Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya wore a prototype of the Alphafly when he ran the world's first sub-2-hour marathon in an unofficial race in October. What's more, all three of the men's marathon medalists at the 2016 Rio Olympics laced up a version of the shoe, including third-place finisher Galen Rupp, who's among the favorites Saturday. To some, the advances in the high-tech world of shoes remain an exciting revolution. Others have said it risks reducing marathons to a shoe competition. The controversy prompted World Athletics to issue its most stringent shoe regulations in decades ahead of the Tokyo Games. The Vaporfly avoided a ban, and the debate rages on. "It's not to knock any of those guys who run really fast in the Vaporfly," said Tyler Andrews, who's sponsored by Hoka One One. "They'd run really fast even if they were wearing Crocs." Among the favorites in the women's race Saturday is Des Linden, who's sponsored by Brooks. Linden wrote on her social media page in January following the World Athletics announcement of their shoe restrictions: "BREAKING: @WorldAthletics rule all super shoes legal, with new requirement — athlete must wear a foam red nose while using said shoes during competition. Many regulations on the foam nose to follow ..." At 45, Bernard Lagat will try to make his sixth Olympic team as he switches over to the marathon. Granted, he's relatively new to the discipline, but he's a seasoned veteran — and happens to be sponsored by Nike. Riley realizes the attention is on the footwear. Should he earn one of the three men's Olympic spots while wearing Nike shoes over, say, Scott Fauble, who runs in Hoka One One, Riley understands how the conversation will go: It's gotta be the shoes. "That would be aggravating and I don't think that tells the entire story," Riley said. "I'm glad to see that other shoe companies are going to have something out there so that we can quiet down that conversation." When he's not running or training, Ward happens to be an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University in statistics. So this appeals to him: Working with his sponsor, Saucony, over the last year and a half to test out numerous shoe prototypes. That's why he feels confident at the starting line. "I'm sure studies will be released after the trials with all these companies releasing new shoes," Ward said. "People will be comparing them and analyzing that question in a quantitative way to see how these shoes measure against one another. That's going to be fun science to wait for." ___ AP Sports Writer Charles Odum in Atlanta contributed to this report. ___ More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports  |
| At U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, It Was All About the Shoes - The Wall Street Journal Posted: 29 Feb 2020 04:22 PM PST  ATLANTA—Galen Rupp reasserted himself as the top U.S. men's marathoner, and Aliphine Tuliamuk edged out her competitors to finish as the top woman in Saturday's U.S. Olympic marathon trials, a race that played out against the backdrop of an arms race in shoe technology. Rupp pulled away in the final miles on a blustery day, showing the speed that won him the bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics, to finish in 2:09:20, more than 42 seconds ahead of Jacob Riley. Abdi Abdirahman was third, and at age 43 will be the oldest American...  |
| Cole Haan is going public: 5 things to know about the shoes and accessories company - MarketWatch Posted: 29 Feb 2020 12:37 PM PST By Tonya Garcia Published: Feb 29, 2020 3:37 pm ET Cole Haan is focused on digital platforms, but is expecting growth to be driven by its storesCole Haan is a 90-year-old brand focused on lifestyle and performance shoes and accessories Cole Haan, the shoe-and-accessory maker with a mission to "inspire our customers to live extraordinary lives" through their sneakers, wallets and hosiery has filed to go public, with plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker "CLHN." With a history that spans 90 years, Cole Haan is a holding company that went private in Feb. 2013 when it was acquired by Apax Partners, a private-equity firm, from Nike Inc. NKE+1.22% in a $570 million cash deal. The company's international segment includes a wholly-owned subsidiary in Japan, where the company has operated for 25 years and has 80 stores. See: Consumer-facing companies will be the first hit if the coronavirus spreads across the U.S. The company was founded in 1928 by Trafton Cole and Eddie Haan and became known for comfortable dress shoes, a style that has morphed into current athleisure styles, where stepped-up sneakers are appropriate in the office and during off hours. Cole Haan says its gear is intended to perform from "work to workout to weekend," targeting a core customer of men and women between the ages of 24 and 44. Cole Haan's price point for shoes ranges from $60 to $400, with most items priced between $100 and $200. The retail and apparel space is a tough one, with well-known brands like Gap Inc. GPS+0.99% and L Brands Inc.'s LB-6.03% Victoria's Secret struggling to remain relevant as tastes and shopping habits shift. The company said it plans to raise up to $100 million, likely a placeholder sum as it works to determine terms. Nine banks are underwriting the deal, led by BofA Securities, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs. Moody's vice president Raya Sokolyanska is upbeat about the company's prospects, touting its product and digital marketing as assets. "Its pivot towards casual and athletic styles enabled it to attract a younger consumer and benefit from the casualization trend," she said. Cole Haan has invested more than $100 million in the past seven years to improve technology, digital infrastructure and product innovations. The company's marketing has also done away with nearly all traditional media in favor of social media, digital advertising, search and other online channels. "Cole Haan has staged a significant turnaround over the past several years, and has become a rare growth story among private equity-owned apparel and footwear retailers," Moody's Sokolyanska said. Revenue in fiscal 2019 totaled $686.6 million with a direct-to-consumer base of 1.50 million shoppers. Accessories accounted for 7.8% of fiscal 2019 revenue. No price point range was given. Revenue came to $601.6 million the previous year, with a direct-to-consumer base of 1.06 million. Net income of $33.1 million in fiscal 2019 was up from $23.1 million in the year-earlier period. Also: 5 things to know about J. Crew spinoff Madewell and its upcoming IPO Cole Haan had "substantial" debt of $277.4 million as of Nov. 30, 2019, according to the prospectus. As of that same date, Cole Haan had $10.8 million in cash, with $8.0 million held by foreign subsidiaries. More than 30% of Cole Haan sales are through digital channels. Cole Haan also has 368 stores and 450 wholesale accounts across 64 countries. In North America, which accounted for 85% of fiscal 2019 sales, Cole Haan items are sold at Nordstrom Inc. JWN-0.97% Bloomingdale's, a Macy's Inc. M+2.56% chain, on Amazon.com Inc. AMZN-0.03% and at Stitch Fix Inc. SFIX+1.01% Here are five things to know about Cole Haan: Like other recent IPOs, Cole Haan wants to be more than it isCole Haan says it's focused on becoming a "global lifestyle brand" at the intersection of technology with more than 400 patents, issued or pending, and labels like ZeroGrand and GrandSeries. However, "Cole Haan is a boring, non-tech company that actually generates positive cash flow, which is nice," said Brian Hamilton, founder of HamiltonIPO.com. "The key here will be the value they are trying to get. If they price within reason, I like them. Beware the valuation." Casper Sleep Inc. CSPR-0.22% which recently went public, began its IPO journey with a prospectus that focused on sleep as part of overall wellness. Casper sells mattresses in a box. And Peloton Interactive Inc. PTON-7.07% billed itself as a connected fitness company. It sells stationary bikes and treadmills that are internet-enabled and interactive. "We are advocates for extraordinary living," said Jack Boys, Cole Haan's chief executive, in a letter attached to the prospectus. "Today's Cole Haan was born out of a simple observation—that technology, which is reshaping our personal and professional lives in profound ways, would radically change what consumers need in footwear and lifestyle accessories in ways traditional dress footwear and accessories companies were not embracing." And: E-commerce surge sparks questions about reliability of same-store sales metric The company's core customers are younger than its execsCole Haan's CEO Boys is 61 years old and has held the position since Feb. 2013 after serving as chief executive of Converse from 2001. The oldest member of the board of directors is 77. Ashwin Cadambi, at 32 years old, is the youngest of the directors and executive officers. He is a principal at Apax Partners, an organization he has been with since 2012. Moreover, all of the board members are men. The prospectus says its customer base is equally men and women. Laura Keely, general counsel, is the only woman on the executive team. Cole Haan will be a controlled companyApax Partners, Cole Haan's sponsor, will own a majority of the company shares after the offering closes, giving the firm control over the election and removal of corporate directors, management policies, potential transactions, dividends, and more. Cole Haan currently expects to use future earnings for operations and business expansion and, therefore, doesn't plan to pay a dividend on its common stock. Don't miss: Oprah's tour drove Weight Watchers membership to a record, but hurt guidance Growth will depend on storesDespite its shift toward e-commerce and Cole Haan's stated focus on digital, the company says opening new stores is key to performance. And it acknowledges that it's a risk. "We may not be able to maintain the levels of North America direct-to-consumer comparable sales that we have experienced recently," the prospectus says. Expanding in North America is a key goal. Revenue in the region in fiscal 2019 was $588.2 million versus $98.4 million internationally. Same-store sales rose 13% in North America. Still, leasing "substantial" amounts of space is listed as a risk factor in the prospectus, with Cole Haan saying it makes the company vulnerable to changes in the retail market. The company is also dependent on wholesale partnerships. Department stores like Macy's have struggled, and brands like Coach, part of Tapestry Inc. TPR+2.18% have cut back on wholesale distribution channels in order to preserve the health of their brands. North American wholesale and licensing revenue in fiscal 2019 totaled $246.4 million. It's not immune to the coronavirus outbreakCole Haan says the coronavirus outbreak could "materially impact" the company's sourcing and manufacturing, threatening inventory levels. As of Feb. 14, the company said that some of the 18 stores that a distributor operates in greater China had been temporarily shuttered due to the outbreak. Cole Haan sources its merchandise from 12 suppliers across Vietnam, India and China. A number of retailers and brands, including Nike and Michael Kors parent Capri Holdings Ltd. CPRI+4.79% have discussed the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on their businesses. See original version of this story  |
| Prince Harry's Shoes Have a Custom H on the Sole - TownandCountrymag.com Posted: 01 Mar 2020 08:00 AM PST At an ecotourism event in Scotland yesterday, Prince Harry asked members of the public to simply call him "Harry" moving forward. But eagle-eyed observers may have gotten a hint that the Duke of Sussex had that desire as early as last month. On January 16, a photographer snapped a picture of Harry at the Rugby League World Cup 2021 draw at Buckingham Palace. The close-up shot of his black Oxford dress shoe revealed an "H" on the sole. The shoe seemed to be part of the same pair the Duke wore at an event at Canada House in London the previous week.  But what exactly was the story with these shoes? Were they made by Harry's of London, with the "H" on the sole simply a mark of the brand and not a personal touch added for the Duke of Sussex? "Sadly we think not," a press representative for Harry's of London told me by e-mail. I reached out to Roger Stephenson, deputy chairman of London's Lock & Co. Hatters, which was founded in 1676 and is the world's oldest hat shop. "I would suggest trying to get hold of Lobb's, the shoemakers, who might be able to help as they make shoes for the good and the great," Stephenson wrote by e-mail. John Lobb would make sense. The British bootmaker has been in business for more than 150 years—making high-end men's shoes and boots in London since 1866 and in Paris since 1902. Besides the extensive history, it has a royal connection. While Harry is not able to award a Royal Warrant, John Lobb holds Warrants from both Prince Charles and Prince Philip (the only two men who can award them, since only the two of them and Queen Elizabeth have that honor).  The current Warrants to the Prince of Wales and his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, were granted in July 1980 and January 1956, respectively. Until recently, John Lobb also held a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth, which she granted in 1955. Earlier, Lobb held Warrants from King George V (1911-1916) and King Edward VII (1901-1910). Its original Warrant, granted just before opened its first premises in London, was from the late Prince of Wales (1863-1901). John Lobb himself was born in Cornwall, South West England, in 1829. After working as an apprentice bootmaker in London at a young age, he moved to Australia and made boots for gold rush miners. In 1866, he established his first shop on London's Regent Street in 1866. The Paris shop followed in 1902, and in 1976, John Lobb was acquired by the Hermès Group.  While the Paris bespoke atelier, By Request service, ready-to-wear collection, and all the John Lobb boutiques are now part of Hermès, the London bespoke workshop, John Lobb Ltd., remains in the hands of the family and continues to operate independently from its location at 9 St James's Street.  Jonathan Hunter Lobb, a fifth-generation family member and current director of the brand (he works alongside his two brothers and their father is the chairman), responded to my request for a comment by writing, "I'm afraid we are not able to shed any light on the story behind the shoes. Other than the fact that we hold the Royal Warrants for the HRH the Prince of Wales and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh we cannot discuss who are clients are or what work we have done for them." But a well-informed source says that the London bespoke workshop is precisely where Harry's shoes were created. And while Harry's pair was custom-made, a similar style is available online. The Stockley, John Lobb says, is "a prestige six-eyelet Oxford created on the elegant 7000 last." Its punching details were inspired by the rasp tools used in traditional shoe-making. A personalized sole, however, is not included.  |
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